A family-owned Philly cheesesteak spot that built a devoted following at its outdoor tiki bar has not yet reopened the Elliott Museum's upstairs restaurant and plans to do so, possibly in January. Philly Down South plans to elevate its menu as it reopens the museum's upstairs restaurant, according to reporting by Cheryl Smith in the dining section of Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Philly Down South is known for its Philly cheesesteaks in Stuart, Florida, a specialty rooted in more than two decades of operation as a family-owned restaurant in Croydon, Pennsylvania, before the owners relocated their Philadelphia-inspired comfort food menu to South Florida, according to Discover Martin. That Pennsylvania pedigree has carried over to the museum campus, where the operator now serves as the exclusive in-house caterer and full-service beverage provider for every private venue rental and special event hosted at the Elliott Museum, per the Historical Society of Martin County.
From Tiki Hut to Upstairs Dining Room
The momentum for the reopening traces back to the outdoor Tiki Hut, which built a local following by hosting weekly live music, comedy shows, and community events. Those gatherings have run with no cover charges or raised food prices, the Oceanographic Society notes. That grassroots popularity appears to have set the stage for the more ambitious move upstairs, where Philly Down South now plans to bring sophisticated dinner service back to its second-floor restaurant inside the museum.
The planned reopening would bring dinner service back to the museum's upstairs restaurant.
According to MyFloridaLicense.com, the state portal allows the public to verify a food-service license, view food and lodging inspections, and file a complaint.
Dining Inside a Museum Known for Its Robotic Car Elevator
The setting for the new dining room is unusual by any measure. The Elliott Museum features a three-story, climate-controlled robotic car storage and retrieval system, believed to be the first of its kind in a U.S. public museum, which displays more than 50 classic vehicles on demand using a rotating turntable, according to Florida Rambler. The custom, roughly $1 million automated system was installed during the museum's 2013 reconstruction.
The museum itself was founded in 1961 by Harmon Elliott to honor his inventor father, Sterling Elliott, with Elliott providing $250,000 in original funding to establish the institution alongside the local historical society, per Indian River Magazine. It was completely rebuilt in 2013 as a modern, 50,000-square-foot facility on Hutchinson Island. Beyond the automobile gallery, the museum also holds a baseball memorabilia collection with more than 200 signed cards, second only to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, alongside historical exhibits detailing the 1920s bank-robbing Ashley Gang, the historical society notes.
A Non-Profit Landlord With Its Own Expansion Plans
The Elliott Museum is operated by the Historical Society of Martin County. The Elliott Museum has 50,000 square feet and lists the lobby, forum, car gallery, and café among its rentable spaces. Philly Down South caters exclusively for the museum's private events.
The restaurant's reopening also arrives amid broader capital investment by the historical society along Hutchinson Island. The organization completed a $1.8 million restoration of its sister property, the 1875 Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge, the oldest building in Martin County, and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May, according to CBS12 News. The House of Refuge originally served as a rescue station for shipwrecked sailors.
Located at 825 NE Ocean Blvd on Hutchinson Island, the museum sits directly across from Stuart Beach, per Discover Martin. The location gives the family-owned restaurant operator a distinctive, high-profile venue on the island.
